Stick to the lanes, bikers told

Dicing with danger: Motorcyclists who do not use the Federal Highway’s bike lanes pose a risk to themselves and other road users.

PETALING JAYA: Traffic police have warned motorcyclists against riding on the Federal Highway where there are dedicated motorcycle lanes.

Bukit Aman Traffic Investigation and Enforcement Department director Senior Asst Comm Maha­mad Akhir Darus said motorcyclists who used the main carriageway instead of the lanes along the Feder­al Highway were liable to face a RM300 fine.

Noting that 60% of road fatalities in the country involved motorcyclists, he said travelling on the highway instead of dedicated lanes posed a risk to motorcyclists themselves.

“Traffic on the Federal Highway is heavy during peak hours while vehicles tend to speed during off-peak hours.

“By using the dedicated lanes instead of the main carriageway, accidents involving motorcycles can be prevented,” he said.

He said motorcyclists who weaved in and out of traffic and squeezed through tight gaps were making things worse.

“Some motorists might be caught off-guard by motorcyclists zig-zagging their way through. They risk getting into accidents while trying to avoid crashing into the motorcycles,” he added.

SAC Mahamad Akhir said riding bigger motorcycles such as superbikes, cruisers or scramblers was not an excuse for motorcyclists not to use the dedicated lanes.

“That is a lame, unacceptable excuse. There is no discrimination when it comes to safety. No motorcyclist has an exclusive right over others.

“The engineers have done their research and designed the lanes to accommodate all types of motorcycles.

“The width of the lanes isn’t the issue. The real reason is because motorcyclists can’t speed in these lanes,” he said.

SAC Mahamad Akhir said although traffic officers conducted daily patrols, they could not monitor the Federal Highway round the clock.

“However, we have mobile cameras to catch traffic offenders. As opposed to static cameras, these mobile cameras are manually operated by enforcement officers,” he added.